The Royal Family
by SnowFalls3
Summary: Aboard the Jolly Roger, Regina has to face the questions she could avoid in Storybrooke after the curse broke. Mary Margaret-Regina, Emma-Regina and David-Regina oriented chapters ahead ;)
1. Forgetting and Forgiving

**Regina**

Regina stood at the back of the ship, leaning on the gunwale, gazing at the moon as it rose only slightly above the horizon. Looking at the endless ocean somehow made her feel hopeless and glad at the same time. Glad, because she finally had everything behind her. All the madness, Greg Mendell and his anti-magic nonsense; the townspeople, those who wanted to kill her, but were too afraid to do it because of her magic... The memory of her mother. No matter how much she loved her, she was somewhat satisfied that she couldn't see her grave again. It would just bring up torturing memories anyway. Yes, it was all in the past, she was never to return to that damned place. _Storybrooke_. A place she once thought could be home for her.

Yet she was sad - no, sad wasn't the right word. Furious and blinded by hate would be more appropriate to describe how she felt. Because she was wrong, Greg Mendell and Tamara weren't gone and forgotten; no, they were there with her, in her thoughts, laughing at her. The image of Henry and the two jumping into the portal had burned inside her retina, so now every time she closed her eyes, she could see how the only person she truly loved was taken away from her.

"He's out there somewhere... We will find him."

The soft voice of the other woman would've made her jump, but she was _the_ _Evil Queen_, she was not an easy person to scare. Somehow this thought made her laugh bitterly in her mind, as she heard the irony in her own thoughts. She closed her eyes for a few, short seconds, then looked at the other person, who now probed the horizon as well.

"You sound very confident. I can only hope that what you just said are not simply words of encouragement. Because in that case you shouldn't waste your breath. I don't need it." She turned back to face the ocean. "Not from you, not from anyone."

Mary Margaret stayed in silence, staring at the glittering black water. Regina thought she'd leave after a while, like she always did. She couldn't help it, being near her stepdaughter made her feel inexplicably uncomfortable. Fortunately for her, Mary Margaret must have felt the same way, because during the one day they had spent aboard the Jolly Roger together, she avoided her stepmother. As much as Regina agreed with this, she hoped the short haired woman didn't plan on changing it now. Now, when she needed a little time alone, to get her thoughts in order, to fully grasp what had happened the last 24 hours.

"What do you want?" Regina asked finally. Her demanding voice was not remotely polite. "Did you come here to chat or just to ruin my evening?"

To her surprise, when Mary Margaret turned to face her, she couldn't find the usual shameful and shy look on her face. What she saw instead took her slightly off guard, but after a short moment of astonishment Regina put her sassy mask back on. The woman's face mirrored pure worry, a look that Regina had barely seen in her life. Well, not looking at her, at least.

"I just came to check in on you." Mary Margaret spoke quietly, but her voice sounded loud in the night's silence. "With everything that's happened lately... I just thought someone should."

"Check in on _me_? And here I was thinking Henry's kidnapping made you worry just as much as it did me. Clearly I was wrong." But as a response to her offensive comment Mary Margaret only smiled sadly. "Would you share with me what you find so amusing about this?"

"Nothing... It's not why I came here..." She took a deep breath and turned to Regina fully. "You have faced death in a short period of time. _Twice_."

She paused, waiting for Regina to understand her point, but the woman only shook her head slightly. "And?"

"And..," her eyes showed pity and regret, which only made Regina more uncomfortable than she already was. "And it's horrible. It _is_ frightening. I know, I've been there."

"Oh please," Regina looked away, rolling her eyes. "I don't need to hear your self-pity. Go, tell your sad story to someone who would actually buy it."

But the woman didn't move, only looked up at the sky. "My life hasn't been easy. It's not self-pity, it's a fact. But I've always had people around me who helped me through it, no matter how hopeless the situation was." She turned her gaze back to Regina. "We are family. We've always been and we will always stay that way. No matter what you did, no matter what _I_ did in the past... I think we deserve a second chance."

"_We_ deserve to start over? Need I remind you how you made me kill my mother in cold blood?" Regina's whisper cut the cold air like a knife. "You expect me to just move on and forget it ever happened?"

"No." Mary Margaret answered quietly. "Forgetting how you killed my father, ripped away my daughter and made me live through hell for almost thirty years would be impossible for me too. But forgetting and _forgiving_ are not the same thing."

The brunette stepped back from the gunwale and put her hand on Regina's shoulder. Oddly, the woman didn't shake it off. "Once you said that you were _good_, it was _me_ who added evil to your name. But you are not the Evil Queen anymore. Then... what does that make you?" She let go of her and went back to the cabin. "I will be here to listen if you figure it out."

And she left Regina in the dark, cold night on the deserted deck of the Jolly Roger, not knowing that she just asked the question that had been bothering the other the most.

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_Reviews are appreciated :)_

_oldmcpiper, thanks so much for betaing me!:)_


	2. Trust

**Emma**

Emma stood at the door of the cabin and watched her mother. The woman talked with Regina, and in the silent night Emma could hear everything they said. She was still unable to think about anything else but Henry, yet this conversation caught her eye. It surprised her. Not so long ago Mary Margaret had accused Regina; she hadn't believed her innocence even when Emma had told her to trust the ex-mayor. And now she was comforting her? Offering her a truce?

But before Emma could ponder these thoughts any further Mary Margaret began to walk back to the cabins. Oddly, when she reached the blonde, she smiled.

"What?" Emma asked quietly. They moved farther from Regina, so she couldn't hear them. "What the hell was that?"

"You of all people should know I'm right." Mary Margaret stated and looked back at the woman's dark silhouette. "She deserves another chance… We all do." She added sadly.

"After hearing the horrible things she's done I'm not so sure… I mean… I did believe her once. But that was one occasion. Yes, she didn't commit _one_ homicide. But what about all those things she did back in the Enchanted Forest?"

Mary Margaret rubbed her arm and in a sweet, motherly tone she whispered. "We can't keep punishing her for that. There's no point in doing so. And I think you know that too." The cold wind started to blow again, so the other's warm hand felt good on Emma's arm. "Yes, she did terrible things. She killed people, entire villages, just because they helped me. Yes, she tortured people, took their hearts and made bad choices. But in the end… haven't we all?"

"Yeah, but we didn't kill anyone in the process…" Emma said without thinking.

"Speak for yourself." Mary Margaret responded, looking straight into Emma's eyes.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to…" The blonde looked away, embarrassed.

"No, it's okay. What's done is done. And though it was a horrible thing to do and it will probably haunt me for the rest of my life, I did learn something. Perspective."

"But, Regina, she…" Emma didn't even know what she wanted to say. Somehow she blamed Regina for not saving Henry in time. She knew the woman had used all her magic to save the town, but still. Not having her son next to her made her start to blame people, and since blaming herself wasn't enough, she began to blame Regina unwittingly. "She's…"

"She's _lost_. And we have to help her find the right path this time." Mary Margaret sighed. "You know, the things she's done weren't all evil. Once she did good things, too."

"Does that make up for everything else? How many good decisions could have she possibly have made?"

"A few." The brunette opened the cabin's door. „But if we give her the chance… there will be more."

Emma wanted to believe her, but after her mother went inside and she looked at the dark figure of the Evil Queen, she had doubts.

In the end she decided to have a conversation with the woman as well. She didn't know what she would think, but Regina was Henry's adoptive mother. She and Emma must have been sort of in the same boat.

"This is the new Charming family business?" Regina said instead of greeting her. "You had enough of the Sheriff station and now you became therapists? I already told your mother – I don't need babysitters to make sure I don't blow up anything. I'm fine."

Emma stopped a few steps away from the woman and took a deep breath. Getting into Regina's game wasn't going to accomplish anything. "No, you're not." She said simply, drawing the other's look to her. "I'm not fine, that's for sure. And I won't be until we get my son back."

"Don't worry dear, _my_ son will be back with us in no time. They won't be able to fight back against me." She added darkly.

Emma decided she wouldn't bother fighting with her, she just stepped to the gunwale and looked down at the waving water. "Why did they take him in the first place? What do they need him for?"

Regina must've sensed the seriousness in her voice, because she didn't snap back with her usual sass. Instead she stayed silent for minutes, then answered with a strong voice, but Emma could hear the worry – her own worry mirrored in it. "I have no idea. I've been thinking about it since we got onboard the ship, but I can't think of any reason why they would want to take Henry to Neverland…"

Emma waited for a few seconds, wondering whether she should really have this conversation or not. But she needed answers, she wanted something that would distract her thoughts for a while at least.

"What is your answer?" She sputtered quietly, not looking at Regina, but she knew she heard her.

"Excuse me?" Regina turned to her, surprised.

"Mary Margaret asked you a question." Emma still examined the wild water. "If you're not the Evil Queen anymore, if you are not… _evil_, anymore, then who are you?" She made a few, big gestures, not knowing exactly how to express herself without making Regina hide behind her usual sass-mask again. "I'm not a therapist or anything, but you're important to Henry. And we're… family. And I need to know if I can trust you."

She finished, taking a deep breath, looking at the other woman as she waited for her answer. She kind of felt like an idiot, but given the present circumstances, talking with a fairytale character, onboard a fairytale ship, going to Neverland… Emma decided this whole madness owed her at least a few moments like this.

"Trust... I've always had problems with trust, dear. It's a delicate thing. I misplaced it once and it cost me... well, everything. I suggest you don't trust anyone, especially not me." Regina's words made the otherwise chilly air cold as ice. Emma knew she was talking about Snow and how she had told Cora about Regina's true love. But even now she couldn't understand how that one act of naivety could create a person as soulless as the Evil Queen.

"Trusting people is what I do now." Emma continued with a small shrug. "Back then I thought the same. Before I knew fairy tales are real and before I had a family whom I can actually put my trust in. But that's not what I asked."

Regina waited for a moment, taking one last look at the dark water. The moon reflected on its surface, giving it a slight silver glow. She stepped back from the gunwale. "Everyone expects me to have an answer. For every damn question they have. _No_, I don't know why they took Henry. _No_, I don't know if we will ever see him again. And _no!_ I don't know who I am anymore! Is that what you wanted to hear, Miss Swan?" The venom in her voice cut into Emma like the icy wind that blew. "I've lost everything I held dear and now I have no idea what I'm supposed to do next! So spare me the pity and the questions because I don't need them. The one thing you can do is help me find _my son_!"

On that note she turned around, spookily reminding Emma of the Evil Queen she once had seen on TV as a child. She took a step toward the cabins. "Hey!"

Regina turned, her face full of anger, but she stopped. Emma spoke quietly. "You're not the only one allowed to be angry here! Or confused. We all have the same problem. But if there's one thing that I've learned from all this goddam madness it's that we don't have to face it all alone. That's what _family_ means."

The blonde passed a motionless Regina and opened her cabin's door. Before entering, she spoke back over her shoulder. "And we will find Henry. We'll get _our_ son back. So you better pull your act together, because we'll need you for that."

Emma closed the cabin's door, not bothering with waiting for an answer, dropped herself onto her bed and stared at the ceiling.

Maybe Mary Margaret was right. Perhaps Regina did deserve another chance. But Emma decided she wouldn't give it to her on a silver platter. If she wanted to change, she'd have to prove it this time.

It was all entirely up to Regina.

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_As always - huge thank you for oldmcpiper for being the best beta ever:)_

_Thank you for your reviews! It's very good to have feedback, so please review and tell me what you thought about this chapter as well:)_


	3. The Sirens' Strom

**David**

David sat at the table in their cabin and thought about the people they had left in Storybrooke. Friends _he_ had left there. Alone, unprotected. He trusted Gold's magic and that it would keep intruders out of town, yet he couldn't help but feel like he had let his friends down. Even if people couldn't cross the town line anymore, David wouldn't be there if there was a problem, if there were people in danger, who needed protection. And the worst part of it all - he would probably never see them again. They were unlikely to leave Neverland, it was difficult enough to get there in the first place.

But David tried not to get too deep with these thoughts. Saving Henry - that was their priority. Everything else came after that.

He let a sad smile appear on his face as he thought about Ruby. She'd probably say that she believed in him, that they would find Henry no matter what... Grumpy's face appeared next to hers; he would swing his pickaxe and say that the dwarfs are right behind him, as always... Tiny, his new friend, would look confused as he would offer any help he could give, even though he wouldn't really know what was going on... Archie would state that they did the right thing by leaving... But somehow it didn't feel right to David.

Sitting in the subdued light, alone, thinking about them made him realize how much he was missing them.

Before he could think about more of his friends, the cabin's door opened and Mary Margaret stepped inside with a cool breeze. "Brrr," she whispered. "It's freezing outside."

David stood up and wrapped his arms around her shoulders, stroking her arms so she would warm up quicker. "What were you doing out there in this cold?"

Mary Margaret waited for a moment, then turned to face him in the hug, and said "I talked to Regina." David's face turned red right away, so she continued quickly, "I know, I promised I wouldn't, but I had to! Please, don't be mad."

"Mad?" David lowered his voice. "I thought you understood why I asked you not to do that. She could have taken your heart again! Or this time done something worse... And I couldn't have done anything because you didn't tell me!"

"But she didn't," Mary Margaret took his hands and looked into his eyes. "David, you should have seen it. She was _different_. I told her that we should give each other another chance and-"

"I think she's had enough chances." David muttered darkly. He promised once that he wouldn't let Regina hurt his family again. No matter what Mary Margaret believed, he knew Regina would never change. She had had plenty of opportunities to do that and she had spit in their faces each time. He was just afraid his wife would blindly follow her faith and not see the danger her actions involved. "You should be more careful with her."

Mary Margaret threw him a disapproving look. "I can take care of myself, David. And I won't give up on Regina. She's capable of changing and I think this time she really means it. Even if she can't admit it, not yet at least. But it doesn't matter. We have to help her - she's _family_!"

"Yeah, we keep using that word as an excuse for every bad decision she makes. And remember how we saved her not so long ago, saying that she's one of us and she didn't even say thanks?" David broke the hug, went to grab his coat and put his gun into its holster. "I'm gonna go talk with Hook, ask him where we are and how long till we reach the island. But please do me a favor and do _not_ go anywhere near her alone again! Family or not, I doubt she would think twice before ripping your heart out - _again_."

Sensing his wife's disapproving look on his back, he stepped outside.

The ship was rolling on the wild ocean and the wind became stormy as he reached the deck. He went straight to the rudder and found a rather weather-stained pirate at the helm. "Hook!" David shouted but it was barely noticeable. "What is this?" He gestured around himself, meaning the bad weather.

Hook was grabbing the wooden wheel like he was clinging for dear life, but he managed to shout back. "It's the sirens' storm! I should have seen it coming, but it's been a while since I was in Neverland and-"

Whatever he wanted to say, his sentence was cut off by a big wave that washed over the deck. David grabbed hold of a rope, but he was almost whirled away by the salty water. "What do you mean sirens? What do they want with us?" He yelled after he could catch his breath.

Then it all stopped. The wind, the waves, everything - only the ship kept on swinging in the silence. On the captain's face David discovered something that he could only translate as one thing - fear. "I owe them." Hook breathed. "They're here for _me_."

David didn't understand what he meant by this, but the next moment a gigantic wave struck down on the deck and it took all of the prince's strength not to get washed down this time. When he opened his eyes and looked around he saw that - apart from the dark grey, cloudy sky - the weather was clear and peaceful. "Hook.." Soaking wet, he stood up and looked around. "Hook!"

But Hook was nowhere to be found.

* * *

"For the last time, I don't know where he is or what happened to him!" David's voice sounded stressed, but Emma and his wife had been asking him the same questions over and over again. Without the pirate the ship stood in one place and they had no idea how to get it moving.

"Maybe we should ask for Gold's help on this one." Emma suggested.

"Or Regina's..." Mary Margaret added quietly, making David throw her a look. "What? She could help us find him just as much as he can!"

"Why aren't we moving?" A throaty voice came from the cabins and they all turned to face her. "What happened?"

For a moment none of them said anything; David exchanged a look with his wife, but then he heard his daughter's voice. "Hook's missing. He was taken by some sirens or something, during that goddamn storm. And since he was the only one on the ship who knew how to sail..." Emma raised her hands, helplessly.

"The sirens' storm?" She asked without showing much worry for the pirate.

David nodded. "How did _you_ know?" His eyes narrowed, in an unspoken accusation.

"Because, dear, there are things called _books_. I know some of us prefer chasing wild animals rather than reading, but I for one, learned about the realms' history before becoming the leader of one." Her sarcastic comment hit its target, she acknowledged with a satisfied smile.

"Watch it," David tried to step closer, clearly upset, but Emma stopped him.

"Hey, there is no time for this! We have to save Henry, that's all we should be focused on," her last comment was for Regina. "We need to get Hook back, so let's not play the usual games!"

"Emma is right," Mary Margaret nodded and while her daughter was visibly addressing Regina with her words, she walked in front of David and gave him a serious look. "We have to work together."

After a rather long moment of inner battle, David settled down, but his angry look remained.

Regina only looked annoyed, even when she finally spoke. "So, shall we continue our discussion about the creatures that took the captain or..?" Emma turned back and threw her an unpleasant look, so she sighed, "Alright dear, as you can see my act is well put together. So you can stop doing whatever it is you are doing with your face." Before Emma could reply Regina raised her voice. "As I was saying... Sirens are known to create a storm before capturing and hypnotizing their victims - mostly pirates or sailors."

"Don't they sing?" Emma asked and they all looked at her with confusion. "What, you guys don't know the story that way?"

"Congratulation, Miss Swan." Regina nodded with a smirk. "You really are your parents' daughter."

Mary Margaret grabbed Emma's arm before she could snap back and explained, "No, honey, they don't sing. They cause a storm so the ship can't escape them and then kidnap those on board with their treasures. Usually they hide on a small island and keep their captives as slaves. They become somehow hypnotized after having spent much time with them. And eventually, after their death, the sirens attack other ships and so it goes on."

"So they are immortal?" Emma asked, this time to all of them.

"Yes." David answered. "But immortal doesn't mean they can't be killed."

"You took the words from my mouth, dearie." A fifth person came on deck, and they all turned, somewhat surprised. Gold limped next to Regina and took a look around. "Why aren't we moving?"

David gave him an annoyed grunt, but Emma explained the situation briefly. "And?" Gold asked, then waved his hand and the wind came alive, blowing exactly the right direction.

"Hey, wait a second!" David took a step closer. "We can't just leave Hook there!"

"Why not? We don't need him anymore." He started limping back to the cabins, but Emma called after him.

"He came back for us! We can't just walk away knowing what's happening to him! And it's possible that we'll need him later for saving Henry."

Mary Margaret joined in. "We have to go after him, Gold."

Gold turned before reaching his cabin's door. "_I_ don't have to do anything, dearie. He brought this on himself" And with that he went inside.

David exchanged a look with Mary Margaret, then with Emma. Finally, all three looked at the former Queen.

"Oh dear," an annoyed sigh left her mouth. "Why do I have the feeling you want _me_ to join your heroic quest?"

"Will you?" Mary Margaret asked simply, with a hopeful smile.

"I don't really have a choice. We have a better chance of saving my son with him. So yes, I think I will."

David looked at her and a thought ran through his mind. Despite her facial expression, when she had spoken about Henry, he had seen something strange. Something he'd rarely seen before and the last time he had seen it was when Daniel returned. He didn't know what to think about her anymore.

He had doubts about her joining Hook's rescue. But even if he had them, he stayed quiet. He decided to give it time.

Maybe Regina would surprise him after all.

* * *

_Thank you so much for your reviews, they mean the world to me! I love writing this story and I'm glad you guys like reading it:))_

_oldmcpiper deserves an enormous thanks for betaing my work:)_

_As always, your comments are most welcome!_


	4. Rescue Plan

**Regina**

"As I said before; yes, I can find him." Regina raised her voice, slightly disappointed that the others thought so little of her. To tell the truth though, finding Hook could be difficult or even impossible - the sirens knew how to vanish, and no one had managed to escape their homeland as far as Regina knew -; however the present circumstances were on their side. Getting the Charming family to understand it was probably harder than the task itself. "He still has his hook with him. I enchanted it once. It's true that it doesn't possess any magical features anymore, however I am still able to track it. And with his hook I am positive that we'll find the captain as well."

"Can you use your magic here as well as you did back in your land?" Emma asked. "Or is it like when you tried to get the hat to work when the wraith attacked in Storybrooke?"

Regina threw her an angry look. Mary Margaret, sensing that the ex-mayor was about to react with her usual intensity, drew the attention to herself. "I don't think we should worry much." With a supportive smile she turned to Regina. "I trust you, you will find him."

"Oh dear Lord, just don't start the _always find you_ thing again."

Mary Margaret let the comment pass her ear. "What do you need? Is there something that you require for finding him?"

"Some peace and quiet." Regina muttered, then turned to face the peaceful, blue ocean and closed her eyes. Yes, she indeed needed a little pause to summon her magic. Her sass came from a very familiar place - fear. Fear and anger. She had gotten upset because Emma had a point. She didn't know whether her magic would work here or not, she'd never been in this land before. But she would rather die than to admit it to the blonde. Right now she was the only one who could find the Captain, and with that, later Henry. She could not afford to fail this time.

Yet the former Queen didn't feel the usual warm feeling she felt when her magic was awake inside her body. She felt cold, empty and powerless. She clenched her fists and forced herself to fight. She felt unbalanced and found it hard to concentrate, but she tried to focus anyway. She had to succeed this time. Failure wasn't an option.

Minutes passed but nothing happened. Then, she heard Mary Margaret's voice from behind. "I know you can handle this on your own Regina, but perhaps it would be a wiser choice to let Emma assist you. The sirens' magic is strong and though I am aware that your magic is just as, if not even more powerful... I think we should try to work together this time. For Henry." She added gently.

Regina swallowed her unshed tears - tears of her own disappointment for failing - and with a calm expression she turned back and nodded. There was no force on Earth that could've made her say it, but she was grateful for Mary Margaret. Admitting her weakness would've been more than just humiliating. Regina wasn't sure how to do it or even if she would be able to do so. She set this strange thought aside and looked at Emma. "Well, do you think you are ready for it?"

The blonde nodded slowly, then asked, "What do you want me to do?"

"Concentrate on your magic. Feel the force inside you, then guide it towards me, I know what we're looking for." Regina explained briefly.

"What do you mean, guide it towards you?" Emma's confused look almost made Regina laugh. Almost. "Why can't you say something that would actually help me instead of confusing me even further? Why can't this magic thing be easy? You're more cryptic than Gold was! I bet he could explain this thing better..."

"You don't know the first thing about him!" Regina snapped. What did this foolish girl think? That she could do magic without making an effort? That it was _easy_? If she had to learn it from Rumplestiltskin, like Regina had... To go through all of those things, those tests, to understand what magic _really_ meant... Things she had been forced to do, that had taken her soul bit by bit, until she had reached the point where she couldn't tell the difference between right and wrong. Everything was grey - there were no good or bad choices in her eyes, only things that needed to be done. And magic allowed her to do anything that was needed. Yes, magic was power. But it had been too late when Regina finally realized that the more power you have, the harder it is to control it, keep it at bay and remain the same person as you were before. To keep your humanity. It was so hard that she didn't even know how to do it anymore. _And Gold watched the whole thing_, Regina thought bitterly. _And did more than that, he _made_ me do it. Like a puppet master... Emma Swan doesn't know a thing about training with Gold_.

An awkward silence fell after her invective, Regina didn't say anything more, but her thoughts were most likely written on her face. She took a few, small breaths and put her moderate expression back on. "Just try to do as I say. Feel your magic. Imagine what we're trying to accomplish here. Do you follow me so far?"

Emma nodded, suspiciously eyeing the Queen as she went on. "The next phase is that you try to direct it towards me, let it flow through your body. Here," she added uncomfortably after moments of confusion. She held out one arm and with the other hand she put one of Emma's on her lower arm. "Try to feel this connection, try to... make it flow through here." Emma closed her eyes and squeezed Regina's arm with force, but after a few brief seconds the former Queen did feel something. It wasn't Regina's own magic, she knew exactly how that felt and this was something else.

The second she felt it, Regina tried to use it to find the hook, however Neverland proved bigger than she thought. It wasn't enough. She felt the power slipping through her fingers. "More, give me more magic," she breathed, sweat breaking on her forehead. Emma did exactly what she told her, but suddenly Regina felt her own magic coming alive. The sheriff's power was like a spark that set her own power on fire and it was more than she could handle.

Regina ripped her arm out of Emma's grip and grabbed at her head. Her own power was a lot as it was, but combined with the blonde's, it was almost unbearable. Like she was overwhelmed, like she was about to explode...

She felt an arm stroking her back as she dropped on her knees. "Do something!" Mary Margaret urged her. "Get rid of it! This is too much for you! Use it now or it'll hurt you Regina!"

Regina didn't know how the woman knew what was going on, yet she also knew she was right. With a frustrated growl she stood up clumsily and threw a fireball at one of the barrels that were on the deck. It exploded and a small fire started in its place. She repeated this a few times, feeling the pressure lowering inside her, then collapsed on the hard wooden floor, out of breath. She looked at her hands. Was she really this out of control? She didn't even know what she was doing...

"What the hell was that?" Emma asked with her eyes wide open, but Regina went to the side of the ship without a comment - as far away from the Charmings as she possibly could -, feeling sick. Her magic was still present, but since she wasn't overdosed with Emma's anymore, it flowed constantly and the waves of magic that were battling inside her had stopped. Leaning on the gunwale, emptying her otherwise hollow stomach, though, she felt like she was still on her knees, unable to stand up and regain her balance.

"I think Hook will be pissed about you setting his ship on fire..." Emma murmured, as she and Charming tried to quench the fire. Regina was too confused to react to this scoffing.

"I don't think he will be anything but grateful after we find him," Mary Margaret was talking to Emma, but her eyes were fixed on the former Queen. "Did you manage to find the hook before...?" She asked quietly.

Regina nodded and waved her hand. The wind's direction changed and its force grew stronger. "We'll find him in about two hours."

Trying to save the little dignity she had left, Regina trod towards her cabin, and she was extremely glad that the three others on deck let her go without saying anything.

* * *

After one and a half hours of staring at the wall, sitting on her bed, not thinking about anything, just enjoying the silence and peace around her; Regina stood up and gracefully, like she used to, went back to the deck. Night had fallen again and the water was still, yet the silver fog floating on its surface made it difficult to see anything. The only person she found on deck was David; he gave her a look that wasn't remotely friendly.

"So, are we there yet?" He asked, turning his head back to the ocean.

Regina threw him a pale smile that was more of a grimace. "Soon."

"And what's the plan once we get there?" David's voice showed that he already had something in mind, so Regina sighed with an eye roll.

"Why don't you share your plan with the rest of the class instead?"

David turned back, his look strict. "It's not gonna be like with Daniel." His words stabbed Regina in the chest, she wasn't prepared for this turn of the conversation, but she managed to keep her calm expression.

"Oh?"

"No, it won't. You won't go in head on and do things on your terms. It will be teamwork and if you can't cooperate with us then you won't be coming."

"And how exactly are you planning to stop me?" She hissed. "I'm the only one who knows exactly where the captain is and your gun won't work against me."

"Regina," she heard a voice behind her, and saw Emma walking next to her father. "He only meant to say that we need to work together not _against_ each other."

The ex-mayor huffed, but David went on. "A direct attack won't work against them. We need to split into two groups. One will cause a diversion, so the other can rescue Hook without them noticing it."

"And since when are you such an expert on sirens?" Regina lifted an eyebrow.

"I never said I didn't know anything about them," he replied with one of his superior smiles. Regina hated those disdainful looks. "Besides, I'm only using a basic strategy. It's simple, but since we're outnumbered I think this is our best option. Emma and I will be the diversion team and we'll try to draw their attention away as much as we can."

"That leaves me with your wife as the rescue team? I feel better already." Regina snorted sarcastically.

"No, Mary Margaret stays onboard. There's no way I'm letting her get caught up in this mess."

"No way, I'm not staying here!" Mary Margaret raised her voice. None of them was aware of her presence, but apparently she'd been listening to the conversation for a while. Regina wondered whether it was thanks to her time in the forest, living like a bandit that she could sneak up on them so quietly. "I'm going with Regina and I'll help her with the rescue! You said we're already outnumbered, we can't afford to lower our number even more!"

Emma wanted to say something but David interrupted. "If the diversion works she won't need any help. And we'll need you to look after Gold and make sure he doesn't realize we're off the ship."

"He's sleeping, it's the middle of the night, for crying out loud!"

"It's not up for negotiation, you're staying." David said calmly, but decisively, then turned back to Regina. "You can handle it alone?"

"What do you think?" Regina rolled her eyes, then looked at the fog and narrowed her eyes. "This is it. We've arrived."

They prepared a wherry and discussed the details of the ambush, then Emma and David climbed down to the boat. "Take care of yourselves!" Mary Margaret whispered as loudly as she could. "David, don't let anything happen to her!"

"Mary Margaret, don't worry about us, we'll be fine!" Emma looked up with an embarrassed smile. "And I can take care of myself. I'm your kid, remember?"

The brunette only nodded, apparently fighting with her tears. Regina had a hard time not making an offensive comment about it.

"As we discussed," David said to her. "When you reach the island wait for our signal, then go, find Hook."

Regina nodded, slightly annoyed because he had said this a hundred times already. She and Mary Margaret watched as the man started to pull the oars and they slowly disappeared into the fog.

"I believe I should get going as well," Regina stated and went to the other side of the ship where another wherry waited for her. To her surprise Mary Margaret followed her like a shadow and climbed down with her to the boat. "What do think you're doing?"

Mary Margaret had already sat down and grabbed hold of the oars. "There's no way I'm letting you go alone. I'm coming with you."

"I see there's trouble in paradise? You disobeying your prince's orders?" Regina asked, still standing, holding one of the ship's ropes.

"He doesn't give me orders. He just wants to protect me. I've made my decision just as he's made his." She nodded," I'm helping you. You ready to go?"

Regina sat down slowly and studied the other woman's face. As much as it annoyed her, she found it amusing that the brunette was so determined to go with her.

She smiled, still eyeing Mary Margaret, then said, "I am."

* * *

_These chapters just keep getting longer and longer, huh? Well what can I say, I love writing it :)_

_Big thanks to oldmcpiper for being my patient and awesome beta-boss ;)_

_Cross your fingers for me next monday guys, I'm having the most important exam of my life. I'm not nervous about it, not at all, why would you think that..._


	5. The Island

**Emma**

The boat rode the still water like a knife runs through butter as David pulled the oars quietly. They both remained silent after the Jolly Roger had faded into the fog, and though Emma had some things on her mind, she opened her mouth a few times, and then closed it without saying a word. The island slowly started to appear in front of her, but they were still far from it. It wasn't huge, but still big enough and there were plenty of spaces to hide. _For a lot of sirens... I have a bad feeling about this..._

"Don't worry," she heard David's calm voice. It was evident that the steadiness in his voice came from focus, not recklessness. "The sirens only have true power over you if you stay with them for a long time. We'll be out of here before they can blink. Hey," he drew her attention to himself when Emma still gazed at the island. "I'm not gonna let anything happen to you, or anybody from the ship." He let out a small laugh. "Besides, I made a promise to your mother that I would look after you. Trust me, you don't want to get on her bad side..."

"You really think Mary Margaret will stay out of this?" Emma changed the subject, not playing along with David's game to lighten the mood. "Do you honestly believe that she'll stay on the ship and let Regina handle everything alone?"

David let out a barely audible sigh, then stopped pulling the oars. "No, I don't. She's too brave and good-hearted, and she doesn't care about herself... If I had to guess I'd say she's already on the welly with Regina, heading towards the island by now."

"What? You knew?" Emma raised her voice, looking accusingly into her father's eyes. "You left her with Regina knowing that she'd go with her? Why didn't we regroup so I would've gone with Regina instead of her? Or don't you remember how she almost killed her last time the two of them were alone?"

David put his hand on Emma's shoulder and tried to calm the blonde. "I tried, I did all I could, but it's ultimately up to Mary Margaret. It's her decision. She and Regina have a past that is constantly haunting them, both of them, and this can't go on much longer... They have to make amends for them to be able to move past the whole thing. It took me a while to realize that it's between the two of them. Mary Margaret has to do this on her own."

"But that doesn't change the fact that Regina could kill her! What makes you think she won't try it again?" Emma tried to hide how tense she was, but David's words didn't really help. "How can you trust her with Mary Margaret's life after all the things she's done?"

"I don't, but things happened. I'm not sure she's changed, but... Remember how Daniel came back while you and Mary Margaret were in the Enchanted Forest?"

Emma nodded, not really understanding how this was relevant.

"I was at the stables with Regina when he attacked us. I told her to use magic, to stop him, to restrain him, but she couldn't do it. She even would've let herself get killed. I saw something that day that I thought I'd never see. Something Mary Margaret described as 'the good in her'. I'm not sure I get what she meant with that, but the way she defended Daniel..." He started pulling the oars again. "Look, I'm not saying that we should trust her unconditionally. But Mary Margaret has to do this, for both of their sakes. Give them time and space and trust Mary Margaret. We have to have faith in her."

"The middle of a rescue mission isn't exactly the best time for therapy..." Emma muttered, but she had to admit that David had a point. If it wasn't for Mary Margaret she would've even trusted Regina enough to send help with her. But her mother did a lot of things against the former Queen, and Emma wasn't sure her dark side would stay hidden forever. Knowing Mary Margaret she would probably get too close to the fire and get burnt without even realizing that she was in danger. It made Emma uneasy. And even if they had to make amends, she would've preferred if she and David were present, to calm them if necessary.

"It's curious though," David said, dragging Emma out of her thoughts. "When we suspected that Regina had killed Archie, you were the first to defend her. You were so sure of her innocence, and you were right in the end! But now you're the one not trusting her? Questioning her constantly? What happened?"

Emma didn't say anything for a while, she stared at the black water and asked herself the same question. Why didn't she trust Regina? She had seen her own mistakes in the brunette before, that's why she defended her so fiercely. What had changed since then?

"Because she's just like me," she whispered, still gazing at the water. "She does things, she regrets them, but no matter how much she doesn't want to, she will make those same mistakes all over again. We never learn." The moonlight mirrored on the surface of the water created a silver 'bridge' of shining dots. Emma got lost gazing at them, saying all those things that were battling her inside from the moment they saw her kid being taken away.

"We are the reason they took Henry." She almost spat the last sentence. "It's on _us_, Regina and me, _we_ didn't protect him. We let them get away. We're supposed to be his mothers. His protectors. And we didn't do anything. We stood there and let them, let _him_ go... But I'm not surprised about me, I'm always like that. I screw things up, I lose people, I know I'm like that, I accepted that a long time ago... But if it wasn't me, then it should have been Regina!" Her tears gathered in her eyes and reached the point where she couldn't hold on to them anymore. "She's a powerful sorceress, she's the Evil Queen for god's sake! _She_ should've saved him! _She_ should've stopped them! If _I_ wasn't strong enough then _she_ should have been..!"

Emma stooped on her knees and let the words sink in. Because she hadn't let herself feel these things, see the facts as they really were. She was a failure, yeah, she knew that. But the thought of not being strong enough to protect her kid almost broke her inside. She had let go of him once and she regretted it from that moment on... Now she'd done it again. But it was worse, much worse, because she'd grown to love him, love him truly, with all her heart, and he took it with him when he jumped through that portal...

She felt two arms wrapping around her, holding her, tightly and closely... But no. Stop it! This wasn't about her! She didn't need protecting arms - Henry needed them! And they had to hurry, to save Hook and then find Henry...!

She broke the embrace and looked hard into David's eyes. "We have to find him!"

Her father's eyes were teary as well, and Emma thought that maybe he remembered something else, maybe the time he had to let go of his own child... "We will. We're family. And family always finds one another." He placed a quick kiss on her forehead, then grabbed hold of the oars and pulled them with more force than ever before. It almost felt like the boat was flying on top of the water.

Emma, seeing the determination in her father's eyes, steeled herself too. She needs to be strong. This plan needed to work.

Because yes, maybe she was a failure, but she was also the savior. She didn't really understand what it meant yet, but since not finding Henry was _not_ an option, she decided it meant that she wouldn't fail. It was enough for now.

* * *

"You see them?" Emma whispered. They had reached the beach a few minutes before, David had pulled the welly to a bush and covered it.

"No," he replied. "But I'm sure they're not far. Come on."

He pioneered the path in the jungle-like forest and Emma followed him closely. She touched the flare-pistol they had gotten from the ship in her belt and let her mind wander for a second on where Hook had gotten something like that on his ship. However, knowing that he had made a trip to New York and then made an alliance with Tamara and Greg, maybe it wasn't such a mystery at all.

It took them a few minutes to reach the center of the island. It was a huge, breath-taking lake, surrounded by huge rocks from on one side and a forest from on the other. And here came the surprising part.

There were only three sirens - not just because there were three of them present, but at the coast of the lake there were only three big thrones, each different, yet somehow the same. The sirens looked just like their thrones - they were similar, but they all had different features.

The brunette siren looked the youngest. She had fierce, burning red eyes, and the hungry look on her face showed that she was a rather impulsive and offensive creature. There was something wild about her, yet she wasn't very intimidating. Her throne was made of small pieces of rocks and she held a trident in her hand.

The red-headed siren looked the smartest. Her look was full of desire, a longing to know more, to examine things better, a general thirst for knowledge. Her light brown eyes flashed from one place to another within seconds, seemingly her mind never stopped. Her hair was the longest and it covered most of her throne, which looked like it was probably made of seashells. In her lap lay a martial fishnet.

The third siren looked the oldest. Her blonde hair was shorter than the others', but she was the most beautiful of them all. Her look radiated stillness and peace. It was somehow frightening and relaxing at the same time. Her throne was simple, but elegant - a chair made of some sort of metal, steel perhaps. She didn't have a weapon like the others, but around her neck there was a necklace with a pearl.

"That's it?" Emma whispered as they hid behind a bush in the forest. "There are only three of them?"

"Shush!" David threw her a tense look. Emma read the words '_do what we discussed_' from his lips and David pointed at the huge cliff that shed shadow on the lake. There were people before it - not sirens, people - laying, sitting, going on and about. They seemed relaxed, but Emma knew it was only the hypnosis. From the dozen of men she finally found the one she was looking for.

"There's Hook," she gestured toward the captain, trying to whisper as quietly as she could. David nodded, then gave her a questioning look.

After Emma nodded as well, he went closer to her and hugged her tightly. They both knew that what they were going to do was dangerous. But somehow having the other with them made them almost feel safe.

"I'll be fine." He whispered, gave a quick kiss on her forehead, then moved around the bush and headed towards the lake.

Emma's muscles tensed, her senses sharpened and she crouched like a runner, waiting for the pistol to fire. This was it. It was now or never.

And she prayed like hell that Regina would do her part of the plan.

Because without her help, this was a suicide mission and they were all doomed.

* * *

_As always an enormous thanks to oldmcpiper for being my awesome beta!_

_In this chapter I wanted to show how Emma feels about Henry's abduction, more importantly about how she and Regina stood by as it happened. As I wrote before, she knows that Regina was totally exhausted after saving the town, but I think Emma can't really handle these things. Her guilt is there and she doesn't know what to do with it, so she blames others. I hope that was clear._

_And so the real action begins... I'll try to update soon, until then I'm looking forward to read your thoughts, reviews - they always make my day and help me shape the story ;)_


	6. Problems

**Regina**

The night was cold and Regina felt dead-tired as they finally reached the island. Her head hurt, her eyes were burning and worst of all was the constant headache that made her close her eyes for several seconds, forcing her to concentrate, to reduce the pain as much as she possibly could. It was all caused by the torture and the many near death experiences she'd had while being kept prisoner by Greg and Tamara. Gold had said that they were merely pawns, that there was something - someone - greater behind all that. Regina was sure if it came down to a fight between the two of them and herself, she would have no problem defeating them. However, she didn't like what she heard in her former master's voice. It was something familiar, yet she'd barely heard it before. The ghost of fear. And if there was something Rumpelstiltskin was afraid of, that meant no good.

"You think they're there yet?" Mary Margaret asked when they got out of the welly and stared at the dense forest in front of them.

"I think we'd know if they were. Miss Swan usually shoots first and then asks questions. I wonder where she got that feature from..." She added with the clear intent of mocking the other woman, but the brunette's look was fixed on the cliff that emerged in the middle of the island - the place David said the sirens were. Mary Margaret's eyes radiated worry and she started to do that thing with her ring again. "Would you do me a favor and stop acting so horrified for a minute? As much as I hate to admit it, Emma Swan is a capable police officer, who _has a gun_ and she's with her father, an overprotective prince imitator _with a gun_. And even if that wasn't enough, I've cast a spell on them, so the sirens' hypnosis won't work on them. So just stop worrying or you will infect me with your anxiety and _that's_ when we'll be in trouble..."

Mary Margaret stood still for a second, then turned to the former Queen and with an expression of calm that was obviously fake she said, "We will find Henry." Regina expected many things as a response, but to that she couldn't say anything. How was it relevant? But Mary Margaret went on. "We will find him, he'll be fine, no harm will come to him, he'll be safe." She waited for a moment, holding the other woman's confused gaze, then said, "Tell me Regina, does that make you feel any better or any less worried?"

Regina let out a short snort, and rolled her eyes as she understood the words' intention.

"And don't say it's not the same. Yes, perhaps I didn't get to raise Emma. Perhaps I wasn't there for her like a parent should be. Yes, it was all taken away from us, but she's still my daughter and I _am_ her mother. And I'll be worried sick until I know she's somewhere safe."

"That's sweet, dear, but let's not forget who caused all of that."

A frustrated laugh escaped Mary Margaret's mouth and she looked around, seemingly not wanting to have this conversation. "Yes, we could get into this. Play the blame-game like we usually do. Debate whether the reason Emma grew up alone was you, the one who cursed all of us; or me, the one who made the greatest mistake of her life and trusted your mother which caused both of us suffering and a lifetime of regret! But it doesn't matter, Regina, can't you see it? For me, it doesn't! All that does is the fact that my child was alone her entire life. No matter who we blame, that won't change the facts. That won't make things undone. No good comes from blindly hating others for things that can't be changed."

"What are you saying? That my accusations have no ground? That I make things up as I go?"

"No, but you have to understand, I can't do more than just say that I'm sorry for Daniel's death, I can't bring him ba-"

"Are you sure you want to go there, dear? You _really_ want to bring Daniel up?" The ex-mayor hissed.

"All I'm saying is that blaming each other for things we can't possibly change is a mistake!"

"I am well aware of that! I was ready to change, yet it wasn't enough for you to take him away from me - you had to get my mother killed, too!"

The two women were practically screaming at each other, standing face to face, stabbing each other with their eyes. There was a strange power in the atmosphere, tension was building up.

"I'm sorry, Regina, I can't do more, I can only say that I'm sorry!"

"I'm not getting anywhere with your apologies! You're the reason she's gone!"

"Yes, maybe I am... But even without me, she was already going down a path to self-destruction-"

"DON'T YOU DARE!"

Regina felt the rage piling up within her. How dare she talk about her mother like that? She shouldn't even be allowed to mention her name. Insulting her was way out of line.

She sensed her magic coming alive again, this time without making an effort or consciously wanting to. The regret and sorrow in Mary Margaret's eyes just made it all worse.

But before either of them could say or do anything a loud noise assailed their ears. Their heads snapped up and they saw a line of sparkling, red dots lighting up the night's black sky - the signal Emma was to give when the distraction began.

The two women exchanged a look - a look of understanging; this was neither the time nor the place to fight. Somehow the air cleared of their frustration, maybe because both of them realized what they should focus on instead of arguing.

Not looking at each other, they started running in silence to the cliff.

* * *

David already had drawn the sirens' attention to himself by the time Regina and Mary Margaret reached the lake. There were only three of them, but Regina wasn't surprised, she thought there would be only a few of them. These were powerful creatures, too many of them in one place couldn't live in peace for long.

The brunette siren was already knocked out - how David managed to do that was a mystery for Regina -, she was lying, tangled in her martial fishnet. Even in this sleep-like phase she was utterly disgusting with the animal-like expression on her face.

The red-headed siren was fighting with David now; the man had somehow managed to find a sword and now was battling with such enthusiasm and theatricality that it made the former Queen tired just by watching. He struck, dodged, ran for a few meters, then stabbed again. His expression was calm, but the sweat on his forehead proved that they had been doing this for a while and he was slowly running out of energy.

On the other side of the lake Emma fought with the blonde siren, but the situation there was different. The creature remained on her throne, sitting perfectly still. Her eyes were closed, and Regina realized that she was hypnotizing a few of their slaves, those that were swordfighting with Emma. The blonde looked less focused than her father and her movements were raw, the lack of training showed. The three sailors on the other hand were well prepared for a fight, and it clearly took all of Emma's strength to block, dodge and basically stay alive.

She caught sight of Mary Margaret and Regina for a second, but she didn't have time to say anything with a look - one of the hypnotized men struck down at her and it was a near escape. Hook wasn't one of the fighters, but Regina knew the siren could draw him into battle anytime she wanted. They needed to move quickly.

She waved at the horrified Mary Margaret and they followed the edge of the forest until they reached the enormous rock.

Hook was standing next to a huge table, holding a rather big cluster of grapes and polishing each grape with a towel. Regina laughed sarcastically in her mind - if the captain could see himself right now...

"Hook!" Mary Margaret whispered as loudly as she could before Regina could stop her. Had this woman forgotten that he was hypnotized too?!

The pirate turned and his eyes widened. "You are my mistresses' enemies. You are here to bring harm on them! Death to you, miscreants!" He shouted and dropped the fruits. His actions drew two other sailors' attention to the intruders; they eyed them suspiciously, then, after Hook's threat they started marching towards them. Both of them held swords and their burning, gold eyes proved that they were indeed under the sirens' spell.

"Regina, run!" Mary Margaret shouted as she tried to grab hold of Hook's hand and drag him into the forest, but the captain looked like he wasn't planning on leaving the island or his mistresses. He reached for one of the swords that were piled up next to the table, but the woman dragged him away from it inch by inch. They struggled and Regina snorted a little while watching it. These men... they were no match for her magic. There were only a few things that really were, and these pawns were definitely not.

She turned just in time, because the two other sailors almost reached her. She raised her hand, summoned her magic and with a big wave she let it all out on the swordsmen.

And nothing happened.

Her eyes widened and she was petrified. Why hadn't her magic worked? It was present, she could feel that she successfully summoned it... then what happened?

"REGINA!" She heard the other woman's cry. That was exactly what she needed, it snapped her out of the numb state she was in, so she could jump to her right just in time. She looked at the post she was standing in front of a second ago and saw two blades embedded in it.

What was she supposed to do _now_? Apparently her magic wouldn't work against them, and she had nothing else up her sleeve...

And then Henry's face appeared in her mind. She was doing all of this for him. Failure wasn't an option, she reminded herself. She staggered to her feet as quickly as she could and drew out two of the many rusty swords from the pile next to her feet. With or without magic, Regina decided, she would fight.

"Stop it!" Regina turned and saw Mary Margaret shaking the captain who was still trying to reach for a weapon. His hook was missing, Regina noticed, and Mary Margaret was stronger than she looked. He couldn't get away from her grip. She practically screamed at him. "Hook! Stop fighting us!"

Regina wanted to tell the woman to stop reasoning with him, but the two others were already attacking her again. She handled the fight with two swords pretty well, but after a while she realized that the defensive tactic she was using would not get them out of there anytime soon. She needed to finish this. Now.

Regina launched herself at one of the men, kicked out his leg and dislocated his right arm. He dropped the sword and collapsed. Regina pondered for a second, thinking about whether she really should do this. But she shook her head. _This needed to be done_. She raised one of the blades in her hands and ran it through the sailor's heart. His mate was just about to raid her too, when the woman turned and with one arched, flourish movement stabbed him in a blink of an eye. She quickly removed the rusty steel and the man dropped next to the other lifeless sailor.

Silence fell and Regina looked at the bodies. It was necessary, she told herself, they were in her way. But somehow it didn't feel right.

After a second she realized the others were silent as well. She turned and saw Hook standing behind Mary Margaret. Up until that moment they were struggling, Hook had grabbed hold of one of the woman's hands and had tried to control her, but Mary Margaret had fought. When she saw Regina's action though, the blood froze in her veins. Clearly she was unable to move, speak or close her mouth that had fallen open in shock. Regina saw something in her eyes that she'd never seen before. Disappointment. Or maybe she had seen it, but she never realized it. Disappointment requires to trust a person first, and Regina had always though that noone really trusted her. It was something she had never even considered. Now that she realized what this look meant, Regina remembered all those times when the brunette had given her that look before... Why hadn't she realized it back then? But she shook her head. Why did it matter? She didn't let herself wonder why it disturbed her and almost made her feel uncomfortable in her own skin.

She marched towards them and with a confident, determined look on her face and an elegant move she reached past Mary Margaret and sunk her hand into Hook' chest. With a quick motion she pulled it back, holding a glowing, beating heart in it.

"Regina!" Mary Margaret breathed almost inaudibly. "What on earth are you doing?"

Regina ignored her and spoke into the heart. "Follow me and don't make a sound." Hook nodded and followed Regina as she started to walk in the beach's direction.

"Regina, wait!" Mary Margaret grabbed her arm and made her turn. "We need to help Emma and David! Without us they don't stand a chance against those things!"

Regina smiled. She's the Evil Queen, why should she care? Her only agenda was to save Hook, and well... she did that. Once she put on her Evil Queen suit there was no stopping until the task was done.

But something unexplainable happened when she looked into her stepdaughter's eyes. Seeing the confusion, anger, pity and horror in them, Regina felt unbalanced again. She was the Evil Queen... or wasn't she? Wasn't all Henry ever wanted was for her to be good? To do the right thing? To leave all the evil behind? Well, if that was the case, she thought as she looked around, she was glad Henry wasn't there. She couldn't even think about the disappointed look on Henry's face had he seen her... _like this_. Again.

She had let herself take the easy path again. Was she really this weak? She couldn't be stronger for the one person she truly loved?

Yet there was more than just that. _She_ didn't want to be like this. Make all these mistakes all over again... But she _was_ like this, she would never learn... The loathing tone in her own thoughts made her sink even deeper into the dark place she was in right now.

Regina raised her hand and spoke into the heart again. "Go to the beach. Stay hidden until we get there. Stay low and quiet. Go."

She was about to go to the lake, but Mary Margaret stopped her again. She seemed less horrified and she was clearly trying to hold herself together. "Regina. You don't have to do this. We can get out of here without hurting anyone... else." She added after a glance back at the two bodies. "This isn't who you are."

Regina was unable to respond, her own thoughts were chasing each other and her whole head was a mess. She just wanted this to be over already.

Before she could go, the other woman grabbed her hand. The look the former Queen threw her was more than intimidating, but Mary Margaret stayed calm. "The heart, Regina," she pointed at Hook's glowing heart. Regina had almost forgotten she had it in her hand. With her other hand she reached into her coat, searching for something in its inner pocket. After a second she pulled out a little black bag and slipped the heart into it. Then she put the bag where it came from - with the heart inside it this time.

She looked at Mary Margaret who surprisingly forced herself to give her a supportive smile. Regina couldn't understand how this woman's brain worked.

"We can do this," the woman said. "Together, the right way. I trust you."

Regina took a deep breath. "Well then, let's get on with this."

* * *

_Whoa. Now that was a difficult chapter to write! Oldmcpiper, you are my hero, I know you had a lot of work with this chapter, correcting my awful grammar:)_

_So, I guess the plan wasn't exactly like this, but you can never expect what an ex-Queen might do in a battle. But why haven't her magic work? Was it acceptable that she took Hook's heart? What do you think? Reviews/thoughts?_

_We'll have one (or two) more chapters fighting with the sirens, I'd say you will be impressed with Emma's... skills.;)_


	7. Fight or Flight

**Emma**

Emma Swan knew she was not ready for this. Not ready to wield a sword, not ready to fight sirens, or freaking sailors who were controlled by them, not ready for all that. Heck, less than a year ago she thought fairytales were all made up, and now... Now she felt like the crazy things were never going to stop piling up and she'd never have time to stop and catch her breath.

Because no, she was not ready to fight. She didn't know how to, she'd never done anything like this before, and honestly? She was freaking scared. The three sailors opposite her had burning, golden eyes, and though their faces were emotionless, they were scary as shit nevertheless. Emma felt her panic taking over her otherwise clumsy movements. She was unfocused and glancing over to David, she realized she should be doing something like that. She should pull herself together. But she was not ready for this.

Emma dodged a sword, catching a brief break as she quickly turned her back on the sailors, and that was when she saw them.

Mary Margaret and Regina stood at the edge of the forest, watching her and David fight. So, Regina was holding up her end of the plan. Good. Seeing her mother, Emma wasn't really surprised, she knew the brunette would come. Even from that distance, Emma could feel her mother's worried look on herself, and somehow it felt good. Like a small breeze on a hot day.

The Queen next to her seemed less afraid and her face showed a different emotion - doubt. So, she doubted Emma was ready for this? Did she think Emma was weak?

Yes, Emma knew she was not ready for the craziness she was living, but right now, her pride set her insides on fire. She felt the adrenaline in her veins again, as it flowed through her body, she felt the power returning to her.

No, she would not let Mary Margaret get hurt. She was her best friend, her mother. She had stopped labeling people a long time ago (it was goddamn chaos and her head started hurting every time she tried to think about these things), but no matter what she called her, that woman was someone the blonde truly cared for and she would do anything to protect her. Even if Emma was not the mother in their relationship, she had often felt this urge to stand in front of the cursed Mary Margaret and shield her. That had not changed, but now she finally understood where this feeling came from. She was one of the most important people in her life and Emma steeled herself as she decided she would not let her in harm's way.

And no, she would not let Regina be right about her. They had shared the same doubt; Emma had been unsure, until the moment she saw it mirrored in the ex-mayor's eyes. It called out the stubbornness in Emma, and so she decided she would show Regina that the doubt in her eyes was wrong. Maybe she wasn't ready for this, but she would sure as hell fight as long as she could.

The moment passed and she kept fighting on. From the corner of her eye, she saw the two dark figures move in the forest in the direction of the enormous cliff. But Emma forced herself to concentrate, she had to focus on what she was doing.

The sounds around her were raw; steel collided with steel, grunts and heavy steps on the solid ground mixed into one, big mass of noises. She started sweating heavily and her arms ached, not wanting to hold the ponderous sword in her hand any longer. Her vision became diffused, having spun around a lot to avoid the crushing blades. She took in a deep breath after she managed to get a little farther away from those chasing her. How long would she be able to keep this up?

Minutes passed and she became less and less focused. A thought ran through her mind - this rescue mission had been a very, _very_ bad idea. They hadn't thought through anything, they had been unprepared and now they were losing. They were nothing but a bunch of idiots, scurrying around without any idea what they were doing. Emma had a bad feeling that it wouldn't end well.

Suddenly, a high-pitched noise assailed her ears. She turned and saw Mary Margaret and Regina running towards them with swords in their hands. A shadow of a smile passed over Emma's face. So, they did manage to free Hook? Good. But she narrowed her eyes. If they rescued him, where was he? And why was her mother's face in such shock?

In a second, she figured out why. Emma felt a sharp pain in her right limb; turning, she saw a rusty blade protruding from it. Apparently one of her opponents had taken advantage of her momentary distraction and surprised Emma. She moved a foot away and with a quick fling she kicked the sword out of the sailor's hand. Everything became a bit blurry, but the pain was bearable. The man rushed away, leaving Emma a moment to fall on one knee and let out a short hiss.

"EMMA!" She heard a desperate voice shouting her name. She turned her head to say that she was fine, that it was okay. She knew how freaked out Mary Margaret would be and she needed to let her know that she was fine. But when she moved her eyes in the two women's direction, the blood froze in her veins. Half-standing there, leaning on her sword, she felt the universe stop. Stop and stare, because what her eyes saw was something she could not grasp.

Mary Margaret stood still, though her body suggested she was about to start running. But she wasn't running, she wasn't moving, her eyes widened in a kind of uncomprehending terror. A small sigh escaped her mouth before she looked down and saw a time-worn sword's end coming out from somewhere around her stomach.

Emma became numb. She barely noticed Regina as she stabbed the sailor and pulled the sword out of the brunette.

This was not happening. She was not ready for this. She could not lose her mother, she'd just gotten her back after almost thirty years. There had been no doubt in Emma that now was the time for them to be together, to be a family. There had been no doubt that no matter how difficult the situation was, they would get out of it, like they always had. She had had no doubt. And now, staring at the bloody figure of her mother an enormous doubt came over Emma, and slapped her, along with all of her hopes, in the face. Who was she kidding? They would never have the chance to be a family. This whole madness would never let them. This madness. _The magic_.

Maybe it was the realization, or the hopelessness she felt, or the denial, because it was all too painful to look at, but she didn't really care. She felt the force, and she let it out. She let it flow through her. The air trembled around her and the sand flew around her as if wind was blowing. Emma's whole body became numb, so she didn't notice the tears that streamed down her face or that she was slightly shaking. She stared at the ground, but did not see anything. She was not thinking anything. This was not happening.

When our life is in danger our nervous system uses a very interesting defense mechanism. It sharpens our senses and we stop thinking about the consequences our actions might cause; the only thing that stays in our focus is the thing threatening us. Or body responds in one of two, very different ways. We either run away, or we attack. There's a term for this instinct, it's called fight or flight response. And the moment before our body decides which way to go, before we face our demons or turn our back on them and run like hell; that moment we experience a state of weightlessness. It's like being tossed into the air, right before gravity pulls us back towards the earth - that one moment is the last one, before our eyes become blinded by the very instinct of survival. That one moment is perfectly clear.

Now came this moment of peace. Fight or flight. All her life, Emma had run when this instinct kicked in. Why fight? They were people she didn't care about, because they didn't care about her either. It was easy - turn around and run. No responsibility, no anchors, just herself.

But now? Now a force greater than her own self pulled her in the other direction. She didn't even have a chance to decide. Her body moved to attack without a second thought.

She launched herself at the one remaining sailor she had been fighting and grabbed him at his throat. She raised the man from the ground with the sudden power that filled her body, squeezing the life out of him. Her face was deformed by the hateful snarl on it. Suddenly, she felt a soft hand touch her shoulder from behind. She threw the man away and with a stern look, tear-worn face and trembling body she turned.

But it only got worse, the pain she felt inside. She couldn't really understand what was going on, but it was one of the sirens. She touched her, and it made Emma stop. Strange thoughts raised in her mind. The horror she felt got blinded by them and no matter what she did, they kept coming. It didn't make sense.

_Why was I abandoned? Why didn't my parents go with me through the wardrobe? Why did they leave me alone? Why did they dump me on the side of a freeway?_

_No, wait. I already know these things - I was not abandoned, I was saved. And they couldn't go through, because August-_

_Pinocchio could go through, so then why didn't my mother do it for me? Why hadn't she-_

_No, stop it! She didn't know! If she did-_

_...and when she realized, when Geppetto told her, what did she do? Slapped him? That was it? That was all I'm worth?_

_STOP IT!_

Emma felt the hand releasing her, but without it she could not stand any longer. Her magic stopped flowing through her, and a feeling of weakness replaced it. The wind stopped, the colors became too vivid and everything started dancing around her, so she closed her eyes. She felt sick.

_My mistress would never abandon me like that. She would take care of me, if I serve her she will protect me._

_They are sirens! They are the _enemy_! I have to get out of here, I have to get everyone out of here!_

_Why would I ever leave this place? What's out there that's better than this? A screwed up family, people who pretend they care for me, but when it comes down to it, I'm always second choice? I'm always left behind, they all leave me, saying it's for the greater good. I'm always expected to save everyone, but nobody is going to save me, are they? No one cares about my happy ending. So, why leave?_

_They are my family!_

_They are nothing but a weakness. A burden. I'm better off without them._

_I need them! And they need me too!_

_All they needed me for was to break the curse!_

_But-_

She was getting weaker. Emma felt her willpower leaving her body, as these strange thoughts poisoned her mind. She wanted to shake her head and get them out of her head, but they stuck like glue.

"Emma!" She heard from what felt like a light year away. "Emma, honey, look at me! Please, open your eyes! Emma!" But she couldn't.

"Miss Swan, now is not the best time for this," she heard another voice. "Get up and get going!"

"Sweetheart, you have to get up. You have to-"

"Do not call me that," Emma heard a third person. But no, wait, was it her voice? "You lost that right twenty-nine years ago. You don't get to call me that."

"Oh dear," the other woman spoke again, but it was like Emma was underwater, she could barely hear it. "This is what I was afraid of."

Through the numbness, Emma felt the air tensing around her again. What was she doing? But she couldn't think straight. Suddenly, this wave of hatred swarmed her, suppressing the last bit of free will inside her.

Emma knew she was not ready for this. And as it turned out, she was right.

* * *

_Sorry for the late update! I'm on vacation currently and I barely have time to write. I have plenty of ideas, but I'm always going somewhere so it's difficult to just sit down and write them down. But I'm trying my best:)_

_So, this chapter was fully about Emma. It will be essential for the storyline and I had a few ideas about her character anyway, so I thought I'd put them into this story. For example: Mary Margaret slapping Geppetto. I don't know, have you guys read Believing in Henry, by Shopowner93? Because THAT would be something Snow wound do in my opinion. And also, I'm really hoping that someone will notice next season how everyone's - seriously, _everyone's _- happy ending is more important than Emma's. Yes, she's the savoir, but please, she needs a happy ending too! She deserves it. _

_I kind of left things open, but I'll try to write more asap! Reviews are always mean the world to me:)_


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